Contents

The nutria is native to the southern half of South America. It can be found throughout Argentina, Uraguay and Paraguay, as well as almost all of Chile (the nutira isn't present in extreme-north Chile), extreme-south-east Brazil and much of southern Bolivia. [1]

The nutria has been found in the Canadian states of British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. [2]

It can also be found in 15 of the United States of America: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. [2] Populations are most widespread along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, eastern USA and the north-west. [3]

It was first introduced to the United States of America in the 1930s. [6]

The nutria's first establishment outside of it's native range was probably in France in 1882. The nutria was first brought from Belgium in the 1930s and escapees have since established populations. Wild colonies first appeared in Germany in 1935 after they first arrived in 1926. They were first reported in greece between 1948 and 1966. In Italy, nutria were first reported wild in 1960. In the Netherlands, they had become established in the wild by 1940. Nutria have been established in Poland since 1948. The first reports of nutria in Romania occurred in 1989. Small populations are present in northern Spain close to France, from which the nutria are believed to have migrated. This population has been present since 2003. Nutria have been present in Switzerland since at least 1999. [5]

50 nutria were imported into Japan in 1939 from France. It is thought many nutria were released or escaped after World War 2 and in the 1950s after demand for fur fell. [4]

Nutria devour and damage reedbeds and other aquatic plants (salt marhses are often effected most severely^^^).This results in a loss of habitat for native species, as well as directly reducing the populations of the native aquatic plants. [4]

Additionally, nutria burrows result in structural damage to riverbanks. [2]